Embodiments of the present inventive concepts relate to plant facilities that produce plastics material containers. In a conventional plant facility, it is typical for preforms formed of plastics material to first be heated in a furnace and then to be formed into plastics material containers by a stretch blow molding machine or related apparatus.
Normally, the plastics material preforms, also referred to as preforms, are produced at a different time and in a different location from the containers, for example, by a stretch blow molding process. In the prior art, however, production plant facilities are known, in which the production of the plastics material preforms is connected to a forming process, such as a blow molding process.
The fabricated plastics material preforms are generally moved by conveyor belts, on which the plastics material preforms are transported in an open chute. These conveyor belts may also be encased or ventilated.
Conventional conveyor belts are so long that the plastics material preforms are cooled almost to an ambient temperature in a steady-state operation. If there are interruptions affecting the blow molding machine or the subsequent machines within the line, it can be ensured that the plastics material preforms arrive in the blow molding machine or the upstream furnace again at the same temperature. If the temperature is higher, for example, because the conveyor belts are short and the plastics material preform has more cooling time due to the longer residence time in the event of a line stop and thus has a lower temperature, the blow molding machine can produce plastics material containers of poorer quality until the heating process by the blow molding machine had been readjusted to the input temperature of the other preforms. However, this can result in a higher rejection rate.
When used for grouped productions of this type, a device for producing plastics material preforms, such as an injection molding machine, is generally designed for accommodating a production over-capacity. Excess plastics material preforms are discharged via a guide, directly after the injection molding facility. In the event of line interruptions and line stops that may occur after an injection molding machine or the like, the machine can continue to produce plastics material preforms, which are then moved directly into a container after the injection molding machine. The store of produced plastics material preforms can be moved back into the line during maintenance of the injection molding machine.